Our conversation with Beltran Highlights the Need for Civic Engagement: Raquel Beltran has worked to address the issue of unengaged voters in Los Angeles, drawing on her experience with labor-organizing and political campaigns. We asked her why Los Angeles has a serious problem with voter turnout, what civic literacy means to her, and what leaders can do to boost civic engagement.

In the June, only a quarter of California voters cast ballots in the state’s primary election, a record low. In Los Angeles, similar concerns about voter turnout aren’t new. The Los Angeles 2020 Commission highlighted the city’s woeful record of voting and civic engagement, which has stimulated calls to find new ways to bring registered…